Roger Federer reacts to his first French Open win on Sunday. (Michel Euler/Associated Press)Roger Federer has made tennis history.
The Swiss star beat Robin Soderling in straight sets to win his first French Open on Sunday, becoming only the sixth man to win all four major events, and tying Pete Sampras's record for the most Grand Slam titles ever.
Federer beat Soderling, the No. 23-seed, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4, before a roaring crowd. An emotional Federer fell to his knees when he won the match and shed tears as the anthem played after he was presented with the championship trophy.
He joins Sampras in the record books with 14 career Grand Slam titles.
Sweden's Soderling enjoyed a surprising run at Roland Garros en route to the first Grand Slam final of his career. The 24-year-old handed No. 1 seed and four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal his first career loss at the French Open in the fourth round.
Soderling puts up a fight
It was Nadal who beat Federer the last three years in the French final.
Soderling's run came to a halt on Sunday, though not without a fight.
Federer dominated the first set, breaking Soderling's serve three times, but the Swede rallied back in the second to force a tiebreak. Federer gave up only one point in the tiebreaker to take the set.
Soderling kept it close in the third set, forcing a break point on Federer's serve when he led 5-4, but Federer rallied back to take the match.
A grinning Federer was presented with the championship cup by American Andre Agassi, the last man to complete a career Grand Slam.
Agassi did it in Paris 10 years ago, joining Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Don Budge and Fred Perry as the only players to win all four titles. The esteemed list now includes Federer.
2nd set interruption
The match was interrupted early in the second set when a man with a red Barcelona soccer team flag ran on the court and tried to put a red hat on Federer's head.
Federer pushed him aside, and soon after, security guards caught and removed the man from the court.
Security guards checked to make sure Federer was OK and Soderling queried with a thumbs-up to double-check before continuing with his serve.
Nadal remains the only man to beat Sampras in a Grand Slam final, a feat he's accomplished five times. The Spaniard was the only man keeping Federer from completing the Grand Slam career sweep.
Soderling is now 0-10 lifetime against Federer and has won only one set against him.
Federer is two months shy of his 28th birthday. At that age, Sampras had won 11 titles.
The French Open was Federer's 19th appearance in a Grand Slam final, all in the last six years.
He's won two of the last three, capturing the U.S. Open nine months ago with a victory over Scotland's Andy Murray in the final.
